VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity. The episodes frequently retell and recreate Bible stories anachronistically reframed and include humorous references to pop culture. The series was developed by Big Idea Entertainment and is owned by DreamWorks Animation through its subsidiary, DreamWorks Classics Origins VeggieTales was created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki through their company Big Idea Productions. Their aim was to produce children's videos which conveyed Christian moral themes and taught Biblical values and lessons. The animated feature involved stories told by a group of recurring fruit and vegetable characters who lived on a kitchen countertop. The program was offered in the direct-to-video market, with the first 30-minute program, Where's God When I'm S-Scared?, released in December 1993. In all, Big Idea has released 45 VeggieTales episodes including three Silly Song collections, 5 holiday specials, 4 LarryBoy episodes and a drawing tutorial. In addition to these episodes, there are 13 compilations that combine previously released material, and two feature-length movies, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. Beginning in 2006, the VeggieTales videos were adapted as a regular television program through the Qubo multi-platform network and NBC network. On September 30, 2008, Big Idea announced that Mike Nawrocki would create an "original new VeggieTales TV series," though no further news has been revealed.8 The idea for VeggieTales came in the early 1990s when Vischer was testing animation software to use as a medium for children's videos.6 Due to the limitations of software available to him at the time, he decided to avoid the technical production hurdle of designing characters with arms, legs, and hair. His first animation model was an anthropomorphic candy bar. When his wife suggested that parents would probably prefer a hero who promoted healthier eating habits, he began designing the characters based on fruits and vegetables. Format The episodes generally follow a standard format where a moral issue is posited in the opening countertop sequence, either through a viewer question or an issue brought up by Bob or Larry, followed by one or more"films" that address the issue, with a Silly Song in the middle. The Silly Songs are generally introduced with a title card and a voiceover saying, "And now it's time for Silly Songs with Larry, the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song." Some Silly Songs have alternate titles, such as "Love Songs with Mr. Lunt," where another character sings the song instead. The Silly Song, if one appears, is usually in the middle of the program, often at a cliffhanger moment or in between two stories (although the LarryBoy episodes, in particular, often lack this segment). Each tale ends with this program's signature sign-off: "Remember kids, God made you special and He loves you very much." Veggies on TV NBC The NBC VeggieTales television show altered the general format by opening in the living room of Bob the Tomato's house. Bob, Larry the Cucumber, and other Veggie characters then sing the show's theme song as they hop to Bob's front door. The theme song ends with a character making a random comment, such as Pa Grape commenting on Archibald's new sweater. Bob and Larry then wait for the mailman, Jimmy Gourd, to deliver a letter. When Jimmy comes, he happily sings his Mail Song, which Bob and Larry both find tedious. Similar to the opening counter-top sequence of the VeggieTales videos, Bob and Larry read the letter and the cast tries to decide how to solve the viewer's problem through one of three regular segments: Archibald reads a story from his Big Book of Oddities, Pa Grape shows an old film, or Mr. Lunt appears with his stick puppet, Paco the Storytelling Mule, and tells a story. The result always proves disastrous, as the story or film makes no sense. Bob and Larry then intervene with a story from a VeggieTales video. The show ends with Bob and Larry wrapping things up by reiterating the story's lesson and thanking the kids for coming to his house. NBC episodes end with characters bidding the audience a simple "Good-bye". VeggieTales in The House A new series, VeggieTales in the House, premiered on Netflix in Thanksgiving 2014.9 The series lead is Doug TenNapel and features a theme song by independent studio musician and frequent TenNapel collaborator Terry Scott Taylor. Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer continue to voice their characters, but the rest of the original video cast has been replaced by veteran voice actors Tress MacNeille and Rob Paulsen. The series is an expansion of the kitchen counter-top segments of the original videos to include a full city which the characters live in. Bob and Larry live as roommates in an apartment west of the kitchen counter. Several stories revolve around a general store built into the bottom-right corner of a kitchen counter which is run by Pa Grape. The cast from the original videos remains the same aside from the absence of Mr. Nezzer, who has been replaced by a similar looking character named Ichabeezer. For more information about VeggieTales in the House, Click Here '' Episodes ''Main Article: VeggieTales Videos '' VeggieTales Characters ''Below is a list of the primary characters in VeggieTales * Bob the Tomato * Larry the Cucumber * Junior Asparagus * Laura Carrot * Jimmy & Jerry Gourd * Petunia Rhubarb * Madame Blueberry * Archibald Asparagus * Pa Grape * Mr. Lunt * Mr. Nezzer * The French Peas * Qwerty Category:VeggieTales